The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) on Tuesday released statistics on the country's home sales for May.
In summary: National home sales jumped 5.5% month over month; Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 5.1% below May 2025; The number of newly listed properties edged down 1% on a month-over-month basis; The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) inched down by 0.1% month over month and was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis; The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis in May 2026.
CREA said there were 4.8 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of May, down from 5.1 months in February, March and April. This remains very close to the long-term average for the measure of five months, it added, noting that based on one standard deviation above and below that long-term average, a seller's market would be below 3.6 months and a buyer's market would be above 6.4 months.
The non-seasonally adjusted national average home price was $702,079 in May, up 1.5% from the same month last year, CREA said. It was the highest monthly national average home price in two years and the first time the measure has tipped above the $700,000 mark in 23 months, it added.
"Like the weather in many parts of Canada this year, the spring market appears to have been delayed by a month or so, but the May numbers left little doubt that activity is now picking up," said Garry Bhaura, CREA chair, in a statement.